If the weather is not suitable for your planned high mountain range tour, we recommend an afternoon hike to visit Christl at Poserhöhe.

Christl, how long have you been at Poserhöhe?
Forever. I have now been here for more than 60 years, working as the innkeeper for more than 40 years. I promised my mother on her deathbed that this hut will stay in the family.

How do you see the world from up here?
When a violent storm passes by, one does realize how small and insignificant we really are. Of course, just when seen on the whole. What counts in the end are the people that accompany me through life. Some guests don’t have anyone to talk to, for them I am like a therapist, they pour their hearts out to me. Despite all the technology, people are lonely. I prefer the young people, they do what they think is right. That wasn’t possible in the past, we had far fewer possibilities. If we felt like being wild, no one was allowed to notice…

What has changed in all these years?
Oh, there are plenty of things. If you look across at the glacier, the ice used to be significantly bigger a few years ago. The places that used to be glacier are now scree. But people have changed too. They don’t have the time to come up here anymore, they are hectic, often they just want a schnitzel and French fries.

Which you of course don’t offer your guests!
I offer Brettljause (a hearty cold platter), homemade Schweinsbraten (pork roast) and Topfenstrudel (Austrian; Strudel with soft quark cheese). I sacrificed half a year to get the recipe for the Topfenstrudel.

… come again?
More and more guests were coming to me, telling me about the best Topfenstrudel in whole Gastein. I couldn’t quite believe it, so I went there myself to try it. It indeed tasted better than mine. I went straight to the chef and asked him for the recipe. But, as it was an old family recipe, he was stubborn and didn’t want to tell me. At that time, they were looking for a parlourmaid and so I did the job. It took six months, because my efforts with the chef were pointless. Then, one day, the kitchen trainee came running in the room and gave me the recipe. He had just gotten a clip around the ears from the chef and, in his fury, gave the secret away. I quit the following day, sometimes one needs to be patient.

So… what is the secret recipe?
(laughs) Of course, I won’t give that away to anyone. But I am looking for a parlourmaid…

Address: Poserhöhe, Gamskarkogel 16, 5640 Bad Gastein
Tel: 0043 6434 5333
Open for visitors from Easter until the end of November
Overnight stays possible with reservations made prior to arriving

The 96Hours in Bad Gastein features – written by Rene Fleissner and Jana Kohler, photographed by Daniel Sostaric, Andre Kratzer und Thomas Taurer – were created in collaboration with Kora Group.